5 Things You Need To Do Before Moving

Moving into a new home is a lot to put on one’s plate. There are an infinite amount of steps involved that commence with the decision to house hunt. You have to get pre-approved for a mortgage, find a real estate agent, show your home, view potential new homes and finally settle on one. Then you need to pack up all your things, arrange for movers, take time off work, it’s an endless to-do list.

Moving is widely regarded as one of the most stressful things a person can do. With all the steps and stress involved, it’s common to bite off more than you can chew and forget a few things. In addition, there are many vital steps people often don’t think to include. Luckily, we’ve compiled those below for you! Add the following steps to your checklist to avoid unnecessary stress:

1) Change The Locks Or Re-Key

Unless you’re moving into a new build, there are undoubtedly several copies of your house keys floating around. Ensure that you either change the locks or have them re-keyed. This is a step that can be easily overlooked, but vital to maintaining your peace of mind and safety.

2) Mail Forwarding

No matter how hard you try, you will not cover all your bases on ensuring you receive all new mail to your new home. Important documents will inevitably end up at your old home. You can either pick up a form or do it online, but ensure you have all your mail forwarded to your new home. As you receive forwarded mail, make sure you contact the sender with your new address. You will notice by the end of the forwarding period, nothing will be coming in from your old address, aside from the odd wedding invitation.

3) Pack Meticulously

When you’re packing up your home, don’t just throw everything in boxes and tape them up. You will find that you will come across many items that you don’t need anymore, set them aside and either donate, sell or throw them away, depending on the item. Make sure you have bubble wrap and other packing materials so that none of your valuables get damaged in the move and mark those boxes ‘FRAGILE’. Retain a master list of the contents of each box so that you can direct the movers where to put them and properly prioritize unpacking.

4) Painting And Electrical Work

Make sure all painting and electrical work are complete while your new home is still empty. Painting and electrical labor fees will be significantly higher if they have to navigate around furniture to do their job.

5) Cleaning

Whether you’re moving into a new build or an older home, there is one guarantee; no matter how clean it looks, don’t be fooled, it’s dirty. Make sure go through every inch of the home and clean it thoroughly. This will be relatively easy and less time-consuming in an empty home, with no furniture or objects impeding your progress. While you’re doing this, also do little things like changing all the toilet seats to ensure you’re new home is as sanitary as possible before moving in.